Innermost Being Blog

Taking the first step

by Innermost Being, posted in Spiritual Lessons

Describe one positive change you have made in your life.

Change is a natural and necessary part of life. Sometimes, I resist change because of uncertainty about the future. About eight years ago, I was absolutely miserable at my job. I was afraid to quit because I didn’t have another job lined up. Despite my fears, I made a leap of faith, a step into an unknown future.

Thank God I did.

Faith is taking the first step even when you can’t see the whole staircase.

Martin Luther King Jr.

Like a rock thrown into the water, change has a ripple effect. One change leads to another and then another.

A couple of months after quitting my job, I landed the most satisfying job of my career. And yet, I still wasn’t satisfied with my life. We lived in a suburb of Denver, and it had become too crowded. I started searching for a home closer to the hiking/biking trails.

Then, my company let a new employee keep her job after she moved to Mexico. Why couldn’t I move somewhere else and keep my job? So my husband and I decided to move to South Dakota, a state we visited on vacation, and my employer agreed to let me work remotely.

I took one step when I couldn’t see the whole staircase. I couldn’t even see the next step! All I had was faith that God would work things out for my good. He did.

What’s happening to Christianity in America?

by Innermost Being, posted in Man of Lawlessness

What’s happening to Christianity in America? I’ve been trying to figure this out for years. My first clue that something was wrong was hearing the leader of my Bible study claim that Barack Obama was an antichrist because he is a liberal. As she and other members of the group fretted about impending socialism, I concluded that they were being discipled by right-wing media. I dropped out of the group.

The next group was no different. At times, listening to my sisters in Christ was like listening to Fox News. I tried my best to keep my mouth shut when one of them brought up hot-button issues like immigration and homosexuality. When one member said, “They say he [Trump] is a Christian,” I had to speak up. Trump’s  words and conduct prove otherwise.

Pew Research Center reports that “[t]he percentage of American adults who identify as Christian has been declining each year.” Evangelical Christians see the increasingly secular culture as a reason to use government to force religion on the “nones” (people with no religious affililiation). In contrast, I believe that Christianity has become unattractive to non-believers because so many Christians have abandoned Christ’s teaching in exchange for political power.

God has not changed. The Bible has not changed. Unfortunately, the meanings of the words “Christian” and “evangelical” have been damaged, which in turn damages Christian witness. I am still Christ’s disciple. I still believe in evangelism, but today, Evangelical Christians are not evangelizing, i.e., spreading the Good News.

The best antidote to bad religion is good religion.

Tim Alberta quoting Miroslav Volf, the head of Yale University’s Center for Faith and Culture)

These are troubling times for faithful followers of Christ. We see a man of lawlessness who clearly has no interest in the word of God, hawking ‘God Bless the USA’ Bibles for $59.99. Too many Evangelicals see nothing wrong with this.

The best cure for bad religion is good religion, religion that is based on the morality of Christ.

Blessed

by Innermost Being, posted in Spiritual Growth

What does it mean when someone says, ‘I am blessed?’ It may be an expression of gratitude for the good things in life, e.g. for a home, family, and friends. It may also be a way of boasting about what you have while pretending to be humble.

The Greek word for ‘blessed’ is makarios, which also means happy, fortunate, or privileged. Biblically speaking, to be blessed is to be the privileged recipient of God’s favor. It is to be spiritually prosperous.

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus turned the world’s meaning of ‘blessed’ upside down. Being blessed isn’t about what you have or what you’ve accomplished. To be blessed is to have the character of a righteous person, a person who is right with God.

The Beatitudes

“Blessed are the poor in spirit,
    for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are those who mourn,
    for they will be comforted.
Blessed are the meek,
    for they will inherit the earth.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
    for they will be filled.
Blessed are the merciful,
    for they will be shown mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart,
    for they will see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers,
    for they will be called children of God.
Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
    for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”

I found additional scripture references to makarios on an Ezra Project post:

  • “But blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear.” Matthew 13:16
  • He replied, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it.” Luke 11:28
  • Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” John 20:29
  • “Look, I come like a thief! Blessed is the one who stays awake and remains clothed so as not to go naked and be shamefully exposed.” Revelation 16:15
  • “In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’ ” Acts 20:35.

If I am to boast, may I boast only about the Lord.

Thank you, Jesus, for showing me what it means to be blessed. I hunger and thirst for your righteousness.

Dear old me

by Innermost Being, posted in Word Prompts

Write a letter to your 100-year-old self.

Dear old me,

I’m writing this at sixty, and I do not want to be a centenarian. If you are reading this letter, then God obviously had other plans.

Of course, it’s not up to me how long I live, except to the extent that healthy habits prolong my (our) life.

It was hard in our fifties to accept the physical signs of aging. I hope you are comfortable in your skin, no matter how wrinkly it is. 

Remember that time in our forties when we were tutoring at the middle school and a kid said, “Hey, old lady!” We had a good laugh at that. Kent loved that story.

I expect that you are far wiser than your sixty-year old self, so I have only one piece of advice for you. Let other people help you. I know you want to be independent, but you aren’t as strong physically as you once were. Remember how much Cindy loved caring for the elderly?

I am sorry for all the losses you’ve experienced. I can’t know who you will outlive, but at 100, you’ve outlived so many loved ones. You miss them. I don’t even want to think about it.

As I look ahead to my later years, I pray that I will make a difference in the lives of many people. I pray that I will have an inner beauty that doesn’t fade with time. That’s how I imagine you, a gentle and quiet spirit.

Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as elaborate hairstyles and the wearing of gold jewelry or fine clothes. Rather, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight.

1 Peter 3:4-5

Finally, I want to thank you. It may be weird to thank yourself, but being thought weird never stopped us. Thank you for caring about other people. You are just an ordinary person, but I just know you will be remembered fondly for being kind.

Love, me.

Failure is a teaching tool

by Innermost Being, posted in Word Prompts

How has a failure, or apparent failure, set you up for later success?

I can’t think of a time when failure “set me up” for future success, but I have learned much more in my life from my failures than from my successes. When you let failure teach you something, you come out stronger and better positioned for future success.

Failure is a teaching tool. Failure tells you to reassess and try something else.

Failure teaches humility. You’re not invincible. You have limits. You can’t do everything. You can’t change other people, only yourself.mn

When you fail, it may mean that you weren’t up to the challenge. Try, try, try again. It may mean that whatever you were doing doesn’t work. Try a different approach.

Failure can be humiliating. It can be painful. But it can teach you perseverance, and perseverance builds character. Character produces hope.

Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.

Romans 5:3-4

It’s important to not internalize failure. If you fail, it doesn’t mean that you are a failure. It does not mean you aren’t good enough. It means you need to get back up and try again.